GSE celebrates International Women’s Day with Ring the Bell for Gender Equality
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has marked International Women’s Day by participating in the Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative for the ninth consecutive year. The event, which is delivered in partnership with the United Nations Global Compact, UN Women, Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, International Finance Corporation, and Women in ETFs, celebrates remarkable women who are changing the world and calls for further efforts to achieve true gender equality.
This year’s theme, “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” was particularly relevant to the GSE, which has been on a sustainability journey and launched its ESG Disclosure Guidance Manual and Rules for Green, Gender, and Sustainability-themed Bonds last year. The ESG Manual provides guidelines for companies to report on their ESG activities, while the Rules for Green, Gender, and Sustainability-themed Bonds prescribe the guidelines for institutions to list green and sustainable bonds on the Exchange.
The GSE was also admitted to the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative last year, joining a network of exchanges worldwide committed to promoting sustainable development.
During the event, the GSE highlighted its commitment to gender equality, with 55% of the management team and 50% of the executive team being women. The board chair, Mrs. Abena Osei-Poku, is also a woman. The GSE listed companies had 25% of board seats and 27% of non-executive director seats held by women, according to The Boardroom Africa’s Board Diversity Index. The exchange is working with its listed companies to achieve a minimum target of 30% women on boards.
The event featured speakers from diverse backgrounds, discussing ways to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, with an emphasis on women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
The GSE’s Managing Director, who is the first female to hold this position, expressed hope that the event’s picture would inspire young people, both male and female, and show that a woman’s place is also at the top, in the boardroom, finance and capital markets, science, technology, innovation, or wherever a girl or woman aspires to be.
The GSE’s commitment to gender equality and sustainability initiatives underscores its role in promoting responsible investment and development in Ghana and Africa as a whole.
